Madeley Wood Company

The Madeley Wood Company was a historic ironmaking and mineral-extraction enterprise in Madeley Parish, Shropshire, England. Its origins are dated to 1756, when the Madeley Wood Furnaces—also known as the Bedlam Furnaces—were built beside the River Severn, approximately one mile west of Blists Hill. The company operated in one of the most important industrial districts of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British Industrial Revolution, where locally available coal, ironstone, waterways, canals, and later other transport links supported a concentrated iron industry. The company held mineral leases in Madeley Parish, giving it rights to extract coal and iron ore. These raw materials supplied its furnaces and connected the business to the wider industrial economy of the Ironbridge Gorge. The original works were taken over in 1776 by Abraham Darby III of the Coalbrookdale Company. This transfer linked Madeley Wood with the Darby family’s major ironmaking interests, although the arrangement was later altered. When the Coalbrookdale Company was reorganised in 1797, the Madeley Wood Works became separate from Coalbrookdale. The works then continued, in conjunction with Ketley Ironworks, under the Reynolds family, who had been partners with the Darby family at Coalbrookdale since the 1760s. A later change in control followed Joseph Reynolds’s decision to concentrate on his banking business. The Madeley Wood works subsequently passed to the Anstice family, including a member of the family who had managed the operation. This created another business using the Madeley Wood Company name. The company’s history therefore reflects the fluid ownership structures of early industrial enterprises, in which ironworks, mineral leases, family partnerships, banking interests, and related works were frequently reorganised or transferred. The site was also connected to the expanding transport infrastructure of the district. When the Blists Hill ironworks opened in 1790, the works had access to the Shropshire Canal, whose Blists Hill section ran immediately east of the site. The combination of nearby raw materials and improved transportation encouraged the company to build a blast furnace at Blists Hill in 1832. Two additional furnaces were added in 1840 and 1844, bringing the site’s total to three. Blists Hill remained active in the production of pig iron until 1912, when ironmaking ceased after two of the furnaces were blown in. The name Bedlam Furnaces has a cultural as well as industrial history. Artists visiting the Ironbridge district around the beginning of the nineteenth century depicted the works under that name. John Sell Cotman painted the furnace in 1803 and titled his work "Bedlam Furnace Near Irongate," while Paul Sandby Munn produced a related painting titled "Bedlam Furnace, Madeley Dale, Shropshire." Edward Dayes also painted the furnaces around the same period; his work is now associated with the Tate collection. The nickname may have referred to the appearance of the industrial site, which was likened to a lunatic asylum, and may also have been a satirical reference to Fletcher of Madeley, a prominent Methodist preacher whose parish included the ironworks. During much of the twentieth century, the original site was neglected. Dense vegetation grew among the ruins until the late 1950s, when spoil dumping buried the furnace bases. From the 1970s, the organisation that became the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust began clearing and restoring the works. The surviving furnace settings and blowing houses at Blists Hill are now preserved, though unrestored, within the Blists Hill Victorian Town area of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. The Madeley Wood Company is therefore best understood today as a defunct industrial enterprise whose surviving sites, archaeological remains, and artistic representations document the development of ironmaking in the Ironbridge Gorge.

The Madeley Wood Company emerged in 1756 with the construction of the Madeley Wood Furnaces beside the River Severn in Madeley Parish, Shropshire. The furnaces were later widely known as the Bedlam Furnaces. The company’s mineral leases in Madeley Parish allowed it to extract coal and iron ore, giving it direct access to the principal raw materials needed for iron production. In 1776, the works were taken over by Abraham Darby III of the Coalbrookdale Company. The connection with Coalbrookdale did not remain permanent. A reorganisation in 1797 separated the Madeley Wood Works from Coalbrookdale, after which the works continued alongside Ketley Ironworks under the Reynolds family. The Reynolds family had previously been in partnership with the Darby family at Coalbrookdale from the 1760s. When Joseph Reynolds chose to focus on his banking interests, control of the Madeley Wood works passed to the Anstice family, including a family member who had managed the operation. The later enterprise again used the Madeley Wood Company name. Transport infrastructure was central to the works’ development. The Blists Hill section of the Shropshire Canal ran immediately east of the Blists Hill site, providing access for the movement of raw materials and finished products. The company built a blast furnace at Blists Hill in 1832, followed by further furnaces in 1840 and 1844. The three-furnace site produced pig iron until 1912, when ironmaking ceased after two furnaces were blown in. The furnaces acquired the evocative name Bedlam through early nineteenth-century artistic representations. John Sell Cotman, Paul Sandby Munn, and Edward Dayes each depicted the industrial site. The name may have described the perceived disorderly appearance of the works and may also have alluded humorously to Fletcher of Madeley, a Methodist preacher whose parish contained the ironworks. After production ended, the remains received limited care for much of the twentieth century. Vegetation covered the ruins, and spoil dumping in the late 1950s buried the furnace bases. From the 1970s, the organisation that became the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust cleared and restored parts of the site. The remaining furnace settings and blowing houses are now preserved, though unrestored, within the Blists Hill Victorian Town area of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.

• 1970

  Beginning of systematic clearance and restoration

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1970s, the organisation that became the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust began clearing and restoring the historic works.

• 1912

  End of pig-iron production

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Blists Hill ironworks ceased production after two of its furnaces were blown in.

• 1844

  Third Blists Hill furnace

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A third blast furnace was added, bringing the Blists Hill total to three.

• 1840

  Second Blists Hill furnace

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A second blast furnace was added at Blists Hill.

• 1832

  First Blists Hill blast furnace

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company built a blast furnace at Blists Hill, supported by local raw materials and canal access.

• 1797

  Separation from Coalbrookdale

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  A reorganisation made the Madeley Wood Works separate from the Coalbrookdale Company, after which the works continued under the Reynolds family in conjunction with Ketley Ironworks.

• 1790

  Blists Hill works gain canal access

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The opening of the Blists Hill section of the Shropshire Canal placed canal transport immediately east of the works site.

• 1776

  Takeover by Abraham Darby III

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Darby III of the Coalbrookdale Company took over the Madeley Wood Furnaces.

• 1756

  Formation of the company and construction of the original furnaces

  [1]Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Madeley Wood Company was formed when the Madeley Wood Furnaces, later called the Bedlam Furnaces, were built beside the River Severn west of Blists Hill.

A regional industrial enterprise focused on ironmaking and the extraction of coal and iron ore, operating within the raw-material and transport network of the Ironbridge Gorge.

• Ironmaking

  Pig iron

  Pig iron was the principal manufactured output identified with the Blists Hill works. The company produced it through blast-furnace operations supplied by locally available coal and iron ore. Production continued at the three-furnace Blists Hill site until 1912, when the ironworks ceased operations.

• Mineral extraction

  Coal

  Coal was among the minerals extracted under the company’s leases in Madeley Parish. It served both as a local industrial resource and as an input supporting the company’s ironmaking activities.

• Mineral extraction

  Iron ore

  Iron ore was another mineral covered by the company’s Madeley Parish leases. Access to iron ore near the furnaces was a major component of the company’s location and operating model in the Ironbridge Gorge.

1. 1Madeley Wood Companyen.wikipedia.org